Merge pull request #265584 from rpsqrd/azcmagent-1-38-relnotes

azcmagent 1.38 relnotes

Author: prmerger-automator[bot]

articles/azure-arc/servers/agent-release-notes.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 title: What's new with Azure Connected Machine agent
 description: This article has release notes for Azure Connected Machine agent. For many of the summarized issues, there are links to more details.
 ms.topic: overview
-ms.date: 12/06/2023
+ms.date: 02/07/2024
 ms.custom: references_regions
 ---
 
@@ -16,6 +16,21 @@ The Azure Connected Machine agent receives improvements on an ongoing basis. To
 
 This page is updated monthly, so revisit it regularly. If you're looking for items older than six months, you can find them in [archive for What's new with Azure Connected Machine agent](agent-release-notes-archive.md).
 
+## Version 1.38 - February 2024
+
+Download for [Windows](https://download.microsoft.com/download/e/a/7/ea70743f-0b72-4607-908b-5015fa6c052d/AzureConnectedMachineAgent.msi) or [Linux](manage-agent.md#installing-a-specific-version-of-the-agent)
+
+### New features
+
+- AlmaLinux 9 is now a [supported operating system](prerequisites.md#supported-operating-systems)
+
+### Fixed
+
+- The hybrid instance metadata service (HIMDS) now listens on the IPv6 local loopback address (::1)
+- Improved logging in the extension manager and policy engine
+- Improved reliability when fetching the latest operating system metadata
+- Reduced extension manager CPU usage
+
 ## Version 1.37 - December 2023
 
 Download for [Windows](https://download.microsoft.com/download/f/6/4/f64c574f-d3d5-4128-8308-ed6a7097a93d/AzureConnectedMachineAgent.msi) or [Linux](manage-agent.md#installing-a-specific-version-of-the-agent)
@@ -33,8 +48,8 @@ Download for [Windows](https://download.microsoft.com/download/f/6/4/f64c574f-d3
 - The installation script for Linux now automatically approves the request to import the packages.microsoft.com signing key to ensure a silent installation experience
 - Agent installation and upgrades apply more restrictive permissions to the agent's data directories on Windows
 - Improved reliability when detecting Azure Stack HCI as a cloud provider
-- Removed the log zipping feature introduced in version 1.37 for extension manager and machine configuration agent logs. Log files will still be rotated automatically.
-- Removed the scheduled tasks for automatic agent upgrades (introduced in agent version 1.30). We will reintroduce this functionality when the automatic upgrade mechanism is available.
+- Removed the log zipping feature introduced in version 1.37 for extension manager and machine configuration agent logs. Log files are still rotated automatically.
+- Removed the scheduled tasks for automatic agent upgrades (introduced in agent version 1.30). We'll reintroduce this functionality when the automatic upgrade mechanism is available.
 - Resolved [Azure Connected Machine Agent Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability](https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2023-35624)
 
 ## Version 1.36 - November 2023
@@ -48,8 +63,8 @@ The Windows Admin Center in Azure feature is incompatible with Azure Connected M
 ### New features
 
 - [azcmagent show](azcmagent-show.md) now reports extended security license status on Windows Server 2012 server machines.
-- Introduced a new [proxy bypass](manage-agent.md#proxy-bypass-for-private-endpoints) option, `ArcData`, that covers the SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc endpoints. This will enable you to use a private endpoint with Azure Arc-enabled servers with the public endpoints for SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc.
-- The [CPU limit for extension operations](agent-overview.md#agent-resource-governance) on Linux is now 30%. This increase will help improve reliability of extension install, upgrade and uninstall operations.
+- Introduced a new [proxy bypass](manage-agent.md#proxy-bypass-for-private-endpoints) option, `ArcData`, that covers the SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc endpoints. This enables you to use a private endpoint with Azure Arc-enabled servers with the public endpoints for SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc.
+- The [CPU limit for extension operations](agent-overview.md#agent-resource-governance) on Linux is now 30%. This increase helps improve reliability of extension install, upgrade, and uninstall operations.
 - Older extension manager and machine configuration agent logs are automatically zipped to reduce disk space requirements.
 - New executable names for the extension manager (`gc_extension_service`) and machine configuration (`gc_arc_service`) agents on Windows to help you distinguish the two services. For more information, see [Windows agent installation details](./agent-overview.md#windows-agent-installation-details).
 
@@ -58,7 +73,7 @@ The Windows Admin Center in Azure feature is incompatible with Azure Connected M
 - [azcmagent connect](azcmagent-connect.md) now uses the latest API version when creating the Azure Arc-enabled server resource to ensure Azure policies targeting new properties can take effect.
 - Upgraded the OpenSSL library and PowerShell runtime shipped with the agent to include the latest security fixes.
 - Fixed an issue that could prevent the agent from reporting the correct product type on Windows machines.
-- Improved handling of upgrades when the previously installed extension version was not in a successful state.
+- Improved handling of upgrades when the previously installed extension version wasn't in a successful state.
 
 ## Version 1.35 - October 2023
 
@@ -88,9 +103,9 @@ Download for [Windows](https://download.microsoft.com/download/b/3/2/b3220316-13
 ### New features
 
 - [Extended Security Updates for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2](prepare-extended-security-updates.md) can be purchased and enabled through Azure Arc. If your server is already running the Azure Connected Machine agent, [upgrade to agent version 1.34](manage-agent.md#upgrade-the-agent) or later to take advantage of this new capability.
-- Additional system metadata is collected to enhance your device inventory in Azure:
+- New system metadata is collected to enhance your device inventory in Azure:
   - Total physical memory
-  - Additional processor information
+  - More processor information
   - Serial number
   - SMBIOS asset tag
 - Network requests to Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) now use `login.microsoftonline.com` instead of `login.windows.net`

articles/azure-arc/servers/prerequisites.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: Connected Machine agent prerequisites
 description: Learn about the prerequisites for installing the Connected Machine agent for Azure Arc-enabled servers.
-ms.date: 12/06/2023
+ms.date: 02/07/2024
 ms.topic: conceptual
 ms.custom: devx-track-azurepowershell
 ---
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ If two agents use the same configuration, you will encounter inconsistent behavi
 
 Azure Arc supports the following Windows and Linux operating systems. Only x86-64 (64-bit) architectures are supported. The Azure Connected Machine agent does not run on x86 (32-bit) or ARM-based architectures.
 
+* AlmaLinux 9
 * Amazon Linux 2 and 2023
 * Azure Linux (CBL-Mariner) 1.0, 2.0
 * Azure Stack HCI